Bifurcate resonance column



April 969 H. SOUTHWORTH, JR., ETAL 3,440,888

BIFURCATE RESONANCE COLUMN Sheet Original Filed Nov. '7

FIG. 5

v V HAMlLTON SOUTHWORTH JR.

' JOHN c. STILES s s INVENTOR.

A. m A

ATTORNEYS April 29, 1969 H. SQUTHWORTH, JR., ET AL 3,440,888

BIFURCATE RESONANCE COLUMN Original Filed Nov. 7, 1962 Sheet 2 of 5 SENSITIVE AXIS FIGZ 3 HAMILTON SOUTHWORTH JR. JOHN C. STILES INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS April 1969 H. SOUTHWORTH, JR., ETAL BIFURCATE RESONANCE COLUMN Original Filed Nov.

Sheet OF QE HAMILTON SOUTHWORTH JR.

- JOHN C. STILES INVENTOR.

BY 4 XWafimw ATTORNEYS p 1969 H. SOUTHWORTH, JR., ETAL 3,440,888

BIFURCATE RESONANCE COLUMN 7 Original Filed Nov. 7, 1962 Sheet .5 of 5 FIG. 11

2K3 o I 2K 5 K15 K15 A 1t 1t FIG 12 I P 2K38 -+l X HAMILTON SOUTHWORTH JR.

JOHN C. STILES INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent M U.S. Cl. 73-517 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A two-member resonance type columnar element is provided which is adapted to vibrate at various resonant frequencies depending upon the axial loading impressed thereon. The columnar element includes a central portion comprising two identical parallel members and a pair of enlarged end portions common to the two members. The two members are disposed on radially opposite sides of the columnar elements longitudinal axis and are adapted for flexing in a radial direction relative to said axis with equal and opposite deflections. The enlarged end portions have substantially greater moments of inertia in crosssection than the center portion in order to exert equal and opposite end reactions when the columnar element is axially loaded.

The instant case is a division of application Ser. No. 236,107, now Patent No. 3,269,192, entitled Tuning Fork Digital Accelerometer.

This invention relates to vibrating structures and, more particular, bifurcate resonance columns useful in various types of force sensors and hereinafter described in conjunction with an accelerometer producing a digital output proportional to the acceleration along a sensitive axis.

A prior art accelerometer producing a digital output is illustrated in Patent 2,928,668, issued to B. P. Blasingame on Mar. 1, 1960. As disclosed in this patent, a vibrating reed with a magnet on the end thereof is caused to vibrate at its natural frequency which is a simple function of the inertia and spring constant of the reed, and the acceleration of the reed along its longitudinal axis. The reed is caused to vibrate at its natural frequency by means of an electrical pickup arranged to measure the velocity of the vibrating magnet on the free end of the reed and fed its output to an amplifier which supplies current to solenoids arranged to apply side forces to the reed proportional to the magnets velocity. By arranging two identical such reeds back to back so that the natural frequency of one is increased while that of the other is decreased in response to acceleration along the longitudinal axis of the reeds, the two outputs may be combined to remove the unaccelerated natural frequency of the system and minimize drift due to temperature effects.

Another type of digital accelerometer which has proved to be more accurate and reliable employs two vibrating strings which are placed under equal initial tension. A geometry is used so that a one-axis acceleration input increases the tension in one string to the same magnitude as the tension is decreased in the other string, the initial tension being necessary to prevent collapse of the string experiencing reduced tension. This increases the natural frequency of the one string and decreases the natural frequency of the other, and by beating one string against against the other the output beat frequency is proportional to the input acceleration with non-linearities significantly reduced. Since the natural frequency of the two strings is maintained by a sizeable initial tension in the strings, this accelerometer is very undesirable from a creep and Patented Apr. 29, 1969 temperature gradient standpoint. Creep will cause both strings to relax in time, lowering string frequencies to provide a false output acceleration. Any temperature gradiant throughout the accelerometer will cause relative motion between foundation and across the strings, causing changes in string tensions and false output accelerations. In addition, the two strings are arranged in series across the supporting foundation in this accelerometer so that there is a tendency for both strings to vibrate at the same frequency in low G environments.

In accordance with the present invention, these disadvantages are overcome by employing a vibratory structure of a configuration resembling a tuning fork, comprising two vibratory members or beams clamped at each end and vibrated out of phase. A dense inertial proof mass is secured to one pair of ends of the vibratory beams and supported against cross-axis movement perpendicular to the beams while being free to move longitudinally so as to extend or compress the members when the mass is accelerated. Since the vibratory structure is under no initial axial tension it has negligible creep and temperature gradient sensitivity under a zero G environment.

Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide an accelerometer which produces a digital output proportional to acceleration along one axis so that the number of digital counts per unit time can be computed to represent velocity.

It is another object of the invention to provide a digital accelerometer employing a vibrating structure of a geometry which greatly reduces creep and temperature gradient sensitivity.

It is another object of the invention to provide a vibratory accelerometer using quartz, which has superior mechanical characteristics as far as temperature stability and low internal damping are concerned.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a digital accelerometer employing vibratory members having no initial tension imposed thereon under a zero G environment.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a digital accelerometer employing a bifurcate vibrating structure formed by two vibratory members clamped at both ends in a manner to prevent frequency lock-in effects and raise the quality factor (Q) of the vibrating structure.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a digital accelerometer of the type described above having two vibratory structures arranged in parallel with the supporting foundation (rather than in series as in the vibrating string accelerometer) to reduce frequency lockin effects.

Other objects and features of novelty of the present invention will be specifically pointed out or will otherwise become apparent when referring for a better understanding of the invention to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of a vibrating string arrangement;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of a digital accelerometer embodying features of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic diagram of a circuit for the accelerometer illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective View of the front end of an accelerometer illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the rear end of the accelerometer illustrated in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an end view of the front end of the accelerometer illustrated in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is an end view of the right end of the accelerometer illustrated in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is a schematic view of the forces acting on one of the inertial masses illustrated in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 12 is a diagram of the moments acting on the mass of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is a diagram of the deflection of a time clamped at both ends; and

FIGURE 14 is a schematic diagram of an electronic circuit analogous to a vibrating wire.

Before going into a detailed explanation of the embodiments shown in FIGURES 2 to 10, the theoretical principles involved will be described in connection with the schematic string arrangement as depicted in FIG- URE 1. The two strings S and S; are disposed at opposed ends of a lever of the first class I and firmly fastened to a wall V. At the midpoint of lever J is a spring I exerting tension on the two strings. Acting on opposed sides of the lever are loads W. These loads are identical on both sides of the lever and equidistant from the virtual fulcrum. Thus, loads W form a couple having a resultant vertical force of zero. Furthermore, lever J is relatively fixed and merely senses the moment of the forces about the fulcrum. The result is that not only are the two strings S and S identical, but notwithstanding the forces acting on the strings, the length of the strings remains relatively stable so that for the present purpose, the length of string S will be equal to that of string S and the error in the difference in lengths may be disregarded.

For additional details and a mathematical analysis of vibrating string systems, reference may be had to U.S. Patent Nos. 3,098,388 and/or 3,269,192.

The important feature of the arrangement depicted in FIG-URE 1 is that the vibrating strings are perfect in push-pull relationship. Of course it is essential in such an arrangement that the strings have a high Q, i.e., there be little loss due to hysteresis. In addition to these problems there are a multitude of other factors which each taken individually may be negligible but when combined cause errors. It has been found by practical experience, however, that these minute error causing factors tend to cancel out when the push-pull arrangement depicted in FIGURE 1 is employed, and a much greater accuracy is obtained.

Another factor which tends to cancel out to some extent is the elfect of temperature change. However, because of the sizeable initial tension which must be employed under a zero G environment so that one of the strings will merely have the tension reduced by acceleration rather than collapse, string vibrating devices inherently have severe temperature sensitivity. Any temperature expansion of the supporting structure or strings will change the initial stress field and produce undesirable frequency change. In accordance with the present invention this severe temperature sensitivity is eliminated by employing a vibrating structure which has no stress environment under zero G acceleration and a cantilever arrangement which eliminates stress changes in the vibrating structure due to foundation, thermal expansion or contraction.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, an accelerometer embodying features of the present invention is illustrated which comprises a cylindrical housing 22 having end walls 24 and 26. The housing is made of a material having good thermal stability, such as quartz. A pair of inertial masses 28 and 30, made of a dense thermally stable metal are supported within the housing concentric with the axis thereof by a plurality of cross axis supports 32 and 34 respectively. Each of the cross-axis supports are very thin sheets of material having the inner ends thereof connected directly to the masses and end supports 36 and 38 on the other ends thereof to enable them to be firmly clamped to the wall of the housing 22. With this construction, the masses 28 and 30 are supported against cross-axis movement and are free to respond to acceleration forces along the longitudinal axis of the housing, which shall hereinafter be referred to as the sensitive axis.

A pair of vibrating members or beams 40 and 42 are clamped between the end wall 24 of the housing and the inertial mass 28 with end supports or spacers 44 and 46 on the ends thereof to facilitate the clamping of the beams to the end wall and inertial mass. A second pair of vibratory beams 48 and 50 are similarly clamped between the inertial mass 30 and the end wall 26 with spacers 52 and 54 on the ends thereof to facilitate clamping to the mass 30 and end wall 26.

In this embodiment, each of the vibratory members is made from a very thin 'beam of magnetic permeable material. Beams 40 and 42 form a bifurcate vibratory structure or resonance column 56 and the beams 43 and 50 form a bifurcate vibratory structure or resonance column 58 which may be vibrated at their natural frequency by solenoids 60 and 62, respectively, positioned between the beams of each vibratory structure and energized by an AC voltage, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter. A pair of interconnected pickup coils 64 and 66 are positioned in the air gaps between the ends of the solenoid 60 and the beams 40 and 42, respectively, and a similar pair of pickup coils 68 and 70 are positioned in the air gap between the solenoid 62 and the beams 48 and 50, respectively, so that each of the pickup coils will have a voltage induced therein having the same frequency as that of the vibrating beam adjacent thereto.

With this construction, the vibratory members are not tensioned by the inertial masses 28 and 30 in a Zero G environment. However, when the accelerometer 20 is accelerated along its sensitive axis to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 2, the inertial mass 28 will compress the beams 40 and 42 to decrease their natural frequency of vibration and the inertial mass 30 will tension the beams 48 and 50 to increase their natural frequency of vibration. These changes in frequency will be detected by the pickup coils 64-70 and the output of the pickup coils may be applied to a suitable circuit such as, for example, the circuit illustrated in FIGURE 4 to indicate the magnitude of the acceleration along the sensitive axis as a digital number. The signal from the pickup coils is also fed back to the solenoids 60 and 62 to control the frequency of the energizing voltage to maintain the beams vibrating at their natural frequency.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 4, one type of electrical circuit for the accelerometer 20 is illustrated. The AC voltage induced in the pickup coils 64 and 66 is amplified by an amplifier and this amplified voltage is applied to the solenoid 60 to sustain the vibration of members 40- and 42 at their natural frequency. The amplified voltage having a frequency W which is the same frequency as that of the resonance of column 56 is applied to a frequency multiplier 82 and then to a mixer 84. An identical feedback circuit (not shown) is provided to sustain the vibration of the beams of resonance colunm 58 and a voltage having the frequency W which is the same frequency as that of resonance column 58 is similarly applied to a frequency multiplier 86 and then to the mixer 84 where it is mixed with the frequency W The intermodulation of the frequencies W and W that occurs in the mixer 14 produces the sum and differ ence frequencies W +W and W W which, after separation by filters 88 and 90, are applied to counters 92 and 94, respectively. The counters convert these frequencies into proportional digital numbers which are then multiplied in a digital multiplier 96 to produce the acceleration as a digital number. The interval over which this takes place is determined by the length of the gate voltage produced by a generator 98 which opens gate 100 admitting the output frequencies of the mixer to the counters 92 and 94. The generation of the gate voltage is controlled by a trigger pulse which is also applied as a reset pulse to the two counters. The pulse is delayed before application to the gate voltage generator in order to allow resetting of the counters to be completed before a new computing period is initiated.

As stated previously an acceleration along the sensitive axis (X axis) causes both beams of each resonance column to go into either compression or tension due to the inertial force of the masses 28 and 30. This causes a decrease or increase in the natural frequency of the resonance column and the change in frequency is proportional to the square root of acceleration. An acceleration along the Y and Z axes (cross-axis acceleration) will cause each beam in the resonance columns to bend about its own neutral axis and cause no change in the natural frequency of the columns. By arranging the two resonance columns in back-to-back relation as illustrated in FIGURE 2 so that the natural frequency of one is increased while that of the other is decreased in response to acceleration along the sensitive axis, temperature sensitivity is reduced and the two outputs from the resonance columns may be combined in a very simple way to produce the acceleration output with errors minimized as previously stated. Furthermore, the change in frequency is now proportional to acceleration. An obvious alternate method is to use only one resonance column rather than the two as illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 and to compare the single column with a timing reference in the digital computer to determine its frequency change.

As previously stated, temperature sensitivity is most severe in string or membrane elastic elements where there is a sizable tensile stress field under a zero G field. Any temperature expansion of the structure or vibrating element will change this stress field and provide an undesirable frequency change. However, it is apparent that the resonance column of the present invention has no stress environment under a zero G acceleration, and due to the cantilever configuration, by which the inertial masses 28 and 30 are independently supported, stress changes in the resonance columns due to housing thermal expansion or contraction is eliminated. Because the accelerometer of the present invention uses bending as opposed to string action, it has greatly reduced temperature sensitivity. However, the cross-sectional moment of inertia of the beams of the resonance columns have to be minimized and the inertial masses maximized to provide a practical scale factor, the scale factor of the resonance column being defined as the frequency change per unit G along the sensitive axis (A G). An important advantage of the invention is that the geometry of the resonance column allows a large mass to elastic ratio without reducing elastic spring constants to an impractical level. However, for some applications, force sensors made in accordance with the teaching of the present invention may have the cross-axis supported inertial mass connected to the frame by a single beam extending along the sensitive axis, the single beam being vibrated in a similar manner.

A digital accelerometer, as disclosed in the drawings, will have either a lower natural frequency or a lower sensitivity than a string accelerometer, as can be seen from the following discussion. A resonance column and a string accelerometer will have the same G sensitivity provided that (a) the frequencies are the same; ('b) weights of inertial masses are the same; and (c) the product of the weight and the length of both elastic elements are the same. For example, compare sensitivities of a vibrating member and a string which have the same natural frequencies and inertial mass. If both have the same length and density, the beam and string will have the same sensitivities only if their cross-sectional areas are identical. If the beam has a greater cross-section, however, it will have a lower sensitivity.

If the cross-sectional area is maintained constant and the moment of inertia of the string raised, the resultant structure would have the same frequency and sensitivity. This design is not practical, however, since the resultant structure would buckle under a compressive load. In the string accelerometer, the string does not buckle under a compressive load because it is pre-tensioned so that only reduced tension results. A resonance column of the tuning fork type must have, therefore, an increased cross section and consequently a lower sensitivity. Attempts to raise the sensitivity of tuning fork type vibrating structures result only in lowering its natural frequency.

The important conclusion to be reached from the foregoing is that it is not possible to minimize both scale factor and natural frequency in a tuning fork type structure. A compromise must be reached. The following rules are helpful in reaching the comprise and are listed in their order of importance. (1) Maximize the inertial Weight W. This maximizes the G sensitivity but does not affect f (the natural frequency of the resonance column). (2) Minimize beam width dimension b. This maximizes G sensitivity but does not affect f. (3) Minimize beam thickness t. This will increase G sensitivity much more than decrease f. Youngs modulus and the beam density are not considered in the optimization since they are relatively inflexible and are dependent on other factors (temperature sensitivity). The length of the resonance column L tends to maximize f and minimize G sensitivity, or vice versa. For an assumed .835% non-linearity at 20 Gs, the following optimized parameters result from a resonance column with a Youngs modulus of 30 times 10 psi. and a density of .3 lb. per cubic inch:

These figures would apply to each of the resonance columns and masses illustrated in the drawings and result in a resonance column having a G sensitivity of 0.124 c.p.s./c.p.s. G and a natural frequency in a zero G environment of 9780 c.p.s. This compares to a G sensitivity of .0137 and a natural frequency of 9380 c.p.s. for a typical prior art string accelerometer.

It is important that the natural frequency of the resonance column under a constant environment be stable and sharply defined. The resonance column should have a high natural frequency transmissibility, Q, preferably 4000 or more, and both beams should have the same natural frequency. Consequently the material of the beams should be selected to have the least internal damping. Extreme care should be taken to prevent excessive motion with resultant damping at all joints and the resonance column will be in a vacuum to eliminate all air damping. Extreme care also should be taken to have all joints, cross-sections, and lengths of each beam almost identical.

Damping of the resonance column comes from three areas: (a) foundation damping and interference, (b) air damping, and (c) beam internal damping. Provided a high vacuum exists around the resonance column to negate air damping effects, foundation damping and interference should present the greatest contribution, beam internal damping being considered negligible. One vibrating beam of a resonance column will transmit its inertial forces through its supports to its foundation. Part of these forces will be reflected back, part will be dissipated in the foundation and part will affect the other beam. To increase the Q, most of the energy should be reflected back to its source and not be dissipated in the foundation or supporting joints. For this reason, tapered joints which tend to transmit inertial forces should be avoided, and a sharply defined clamp or shrink fit joint should be used.

If the center of gravity of the inertial mass supported by a pair of beams is balanced exactly in the center of its cross-axis supports, the downward load on the inertial mass will tend to cause it to rotate in a clockwise direction to cause a tensile field to act on the upper beam and a compressive field to act on the lower beam. These stress fields must oppose the moment acting through the fixed joint connection of the resonance column beams to provide equilibrium on the inertial mass. Unbalance and stress field in the two beams of the resonance column is undesirable since it would affect the Q of the column at resonance, and a Q shift might reflect itself in a frequency change. To prevent this effect, the center of gravity of the inertial mass can be relocated slightly nearer to the beams of the resonance column. Referring to the embodi ment illustated in FIGURE 2, it will be seen that if the center of gravity of the inertial mass 28 is located slightly to the left along the sensitive axis so that it is not positioned directly between the upper cross-axis supports 32, a counter-clockwise moment will be exerted on the inertial mass in response to a downward load on the mass.

The exact distance which the center of gravity should be shifted to insure that a cross-axis G acting on the inertial mass will not cause tensile and compressive stress fields in the resonance column beams may be calculated as follows with reference to FIGURES 11-13. When a cross-axis load P is applied to the center of gravity of the inertial mass 28 located a distance x from the midway point of the cross-axis supports 32, the cross-axis supports placed in compression are assumed to buckle instantaneously. Thus the system can be approximated as illustrated in FIGURE 11, where K is the axial spring of each non-buckling cross-axis support, K the bending spring of each of the two beams 40 and 42, and K is a moment spring corresponding to each beam.

If the inertial mass is assumed to defiect downward a distance, 6, the forces and moments acting on the inertial mass are shown in FIGURE 12. In order that the mass will not rotate causing a tensile field in one tine and a compressive field in the other, the sum of the forces must be zero. Summing moments about the center of gravity to zero:

Evaluating the springs assuming two .l25 001" crosssections for each cross-axis support of length .25"

Evaluation of K requires further explanation. Consider one beam of the resonance column to deflect a distance 6, as illustrated in FIGURE 13. Since it is a clampedclamped beam there is a force and moment acting on this beam (F and M).

The slope of the beam must be zero at its end.

The center of gravity of the inertial masses may be shifted this distance x by adjusting the vernier screws 29 and 31 provided on the masses 28 and 30, respectively, as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

Referring to FIGURES 7-10, an accelerometer is shown which illustrates a more sophisticated embodiment of the invention. The accelerometer 100 comprises a frame 102 having a cylindrical wall 104 with diametrically opposed portions thereof removed as at 106. Segmental end walls 108 and 110 partially close off the left end of the frame as viewed in FIGURE 8 and cooperate with the cylindrical wall 104 to define a vertical opening 112 in the end of the housing as most clearly illustrated in FIGURE 7.

An outer clamp 114 spans across the end walls 108 and 110 and comprises a bottom jaw 116 having an upwardly presenting notch at the center thereof and laterally projecting flanges 120 and 122 secured to the end walls 108 and 110 by bolts 124. An upper jaw 126 is bolted to the lower jaw 116 by a pair of bolts 128 and has a downwardly presenting notch therein which cooperates with the notch in the lower jaw to define a central opening 130 for clamping the beams of the resonance column, as will be described. Terminal boards 132 and 134 are also bolted to the end walls 108 and 110 each having a pair of terminal posts projecting therefrom to facilitate electrical connection to the beams of the resonance column, as will also be described.

A two-piece inertial mass 136 is supported within the cylindrical wall 104 of the frame by a circular diaphragm 138. The outer periphery of the diaphragm is secured to the end of the cylindrical wall 104 by a clamping ring 140 which is bolted in position by a plurality of bolts 142. The two halves of the inertial mass 136 are clamped on opposite sides of the diaphragm 138 by a plurality of bolts 144 which extend through suitable clearance holes provided in the diaphragm. An inner clamp 146 is supported on the inertial mass 136 and comprises an end portion 148 split to provide an upper jaw 150 and a lower jaw 152. A pair of bolts 154 and 156 extend through the jaws to draw them together to clamp the inner ends of the beams, as will be described. A stem 158 projects from the end portion 148 through central apertures in the two-piece inertial mass and in the diaphragm in position to be tightly clamped by split fingers 160 of a collet 162 when a set screw 164 in the outer end of the inertial mass is turned inwardly to advance the fingers 160 against a cam surface in a manner to urge them radially inward.

A pair of beams 166 and 168 are supported between the inner and outer clamps 146 and 114. Each of the beams has a flat rectangular end support 170 on the ends thereof to facilitate clamping in the jaws of the inner and outer clamps without damaging the beams. The end supports reduce stress concentration and damping effects and the surfaces of the end supports and the jaws of the clamps which engage one another are carefully lapped to maximize the area of surface-to-surface engagement. In the embodiment of FIGURES 2 and 3, the structural members were made of quartz to ensure good thermal stability. However, in the accelerometer 100, all of the parts with the exception of the two terminal boards and the resonance column beams with their end supports are preferably made of invar. Although this material has a thermal coefiicient of expansion of .9 inches per inch degree C. which is not as good as quartz (.55 inch per inch degree C.), it does provide good thermal stability, and its use is justified because of its better machining and tensile strength properties. The diaphragm 138 is very thin and is preferably made from one mil sheeting. Therefore it must be carefully handled to avoid kinking during assembly. By using one diaphragm instead of tWo, which would be the counterpart of the axially spaced cross-axis supports illustrated in FIGURE 2, radial stresses in the diaphragms due to diaphragm mismatch is minimized, and a one-piece frame may be used between the diaphragm and the outer clamp 114.

The accelerometer 100 may be assembled in the following manner. The two halves of the inertial mass 136 may be bolted together by the bolts 144 with the diaphragm 138 clamped therebetween. The diaphragm is then fastened to the end of the cylindrical wall 104 of the frame by the clamping ring 140 and bolts 142. The inner clamp 146 is then positioned on the inertial mass and loosely clamped by the collet fingers 160. The end supports 170 are then cemented on the ends of the beams and the adjacent end supports are cemented together so that the beams may be handled as a unit. The end supports on the inner ends of the beams are inserted into the inner clamp 146 and the bolts 154 and 156 tightened to provide a loose support. The outer clamp 114 is then bolted across the segmental end walls 108 and 110 of the frame by the bolts 124 With the end supports 170 on the outer ends of the beams positioned in the opening 130 between the jaws of the outer clamp. After the beams have been carefully straightened, the jaws of both inner and outer clamps are uniformly tightened, and the cement used to cement the end supports 170 in place dissolved by a suitable material. A suitable cement is a Watch crystal cement, which may be dissolved by acetone. After the cement has been dissolved, the clamps are further tightened to finally clamp the resonance columns into position.

It will be observed that the beams 166 and 168 of the accelerometer are spaced closer together than are the beams of the accelerometer 20 of FIGURE 2. This enables the beams to be vibrated electrostatically by passing an AC voltage therethrough. The beams are preferably made from quartz crystals lapped down to a thickness of .003 inch, with the confronting surfaces thereof goldplated and wired at one end with a S-mil wire to facilitate electrical connection of the beams to the posts of the terminal boards 132 and 134. The end supports 170 are preferably made of quartz to electrically insulate the resonance columns from one another and from the clamps and frame 102. Each end support comprises a flat quartz spacer cemented on opposite sides of the ends of the beams and cemented together as previously described With the cement being dissolved after final assembly. The spacers can be made to an accuracy of plus or minus .0001 inch and the surfaces of the jaws of the clamps which contact these spacers are also lapped for accuracy to provide maximum area engagement.

In the particular embodiment illustrated, the length of the beams between the clamps is one-fourth of an inch, and the width of each beam is one-sixteenth of an inch, with the clearance between the beams being about .007 inch and the weight of the mass being about .0702 lb. T provide beam amplitude of about a inches, an AC voltage of 40 volts may be impressed across the beams, or a DC bias voltage of 40 volts may be impressed across the beams, along with a 10 AC voltage. Voltage frequencies of from four to eight kc. or more may be used, and the natural frequency of the beams picked up or monitored in any suitable manner, including acoustically, if desired. As before, when the inertial mass 136 is accelerated along the sensitive axis, it will compress or tension the beams to decrease or increase their natural frequency to provide a measure of the acceleration. Circuitry analogous to that illustrated in FIGURE 4 may be employed to convert this acceleration output to digital form and also to provide a feedback circuit for varying the 10 frequency of the voltage applied to the beams to maintain the vibration of the beams at their natural frequency. Also a second accelerometer may be employed reversed from the first to provide two units in a backto-back relationship similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 1 to improve the accuracy of the unit. As before, the space around the beams would be evacuated to minimize air damping. As is depicted in the circuit illustrated in FIGURE 4, the following sum and difference technique can be used. Take the sum and the difference of the frequencies of two accelerometers 100 reversed 180 from one another, and multiply them. The result is exactly proportional to the input acceleration. The natural frequency of one tuning fork under a +G acceleration is:

T=axial tension W=weight of each mass L=length of beam b=width of beams 5=density of beams t=thickness of beams and E=Young-s Modulus The natural frequency of the other tuning fork under a --G acceleration is:

f-G=c. /1+02(T- Multiplying the sum and differences of these frequencies:

r eeo] Thus the result is exactly proportion to G. The sum and the difference frequencies may be multiplied by direct frequency count of both resonance columns followed by digital computation. This would be used in place of electronic techniques used for prior string accelerometers, i.e., (a) beating both frequencies, (b) frequency multiplication, (c) non-linearity corrections.

The beams of the accelerometer 100 may also be vibrated by piezoelectric excitation. The best frequency Stabilities today are obtained by piezoelectrically exciting quartz crystals. Stabilities are in the order of one part per 10 and Qs in the order of 10 for the best crystals. The use of a crystal in a fixed-fixed mode, rather than a free-free mode, will lower the Q of the crystal, but a Q better than 5,000 still may be obtained. The piezoelectric excitation of the crystal beams in a thickness-flexure mode may be accomplished by using a laminated or Bimorph crystal having two 5 X-cut quartz plates cemented together with polarities opposing to form each beam. The necessary electrical connections may be made directly from the posts of the terminal boards 132 and 134 to the crystal beams. Alternatively, a shear action may be used to excite beams made from a Y-cut quartz plate, the use of a Y-cut crystal eliminating the need for two cuts as does the aforementioned X-cut crystal. Or a width flexure technique may be employed for vibrating beams made from crystals having a NT cut. This latter technique normally uses electrical terminals on the thickness dimension (edges) of the crystal, but with beams having the small thickness of the embodiments described above, it would be impractical to attempt to place the terminals on the edges. Therefore they may be placed on the width side nearer the edges of the crystal to provide fiexural excitation. Another possible way of piezoelectrically exciting a thin crystal in a length-thickness flexure (besides a Bi morph) is to excite a single X-cut crystal in a longitudinal mode which, because of its fixed-fixed support will flex in a lateral frequency.

The beams of the resonance column may also be vibrated by a magnetic drive which is advantageous since it is commonly used for vibrating tuning forks and also has been used in one type of string accelerometer. With a magnetic drive an alternating current is passed through the beams to cause them to vibrate at their natural frequency when subjected to a magnetic field. This magnetic field may be provided either externally such as by a permanent magnet, or by the moving current of the beams themselves. In the article, Vibrating-Wire High Q Resonator by A. Dixon and W. Murdon in Electronics Magazine for September 1953, a vibrating wire is shown to be analogous to the electronic circuit illustrated in FIGURE 14. At the wires resonance, the impedance of the circuit is resistive, Z equals R and R is the DC resistance of the wire, pigtails and terminals. The Q of this circuit is derived in the above reference to be:

From this equation, it can be seen that the ratio R/R must be greater than 1 to maximize the Q of the vibrating string. Since the aforementioned publication in Electronics Magazine indicates that an external magnetic field of 7200 gauss may be employed in vibrating wires, it is clear that a greater R/R may be obtained by using external magnetic field rather than relying on the mag netic field of the wires themselves. It has been established experimentally that quartz beams .003 inch by one-sixteenth inch by one-quarter inch with one side silvered .0001 inch thick have an R/R of 5.28, which is small because of the small cross-section of the vibrating beam which is conductive, but is still practical. Beams of tungsten or beryllium copper .003 inch by one-sixteenth inch by one-quarter inch have R/R ratios of 45.8 and 18.9, respectively.

With magnetic excitation, the frequency of vibration of the beams can be detected by pickup coils positioned in an air gap which is varied by the vibration of the beams. and circuitry similar to that illustrated in FIGURE 3 may be utilized to produce the acceleration output in digital form, and to provide a feedback for varying the frequency of the alternating current passed through the beams to maintain their natural frequency of vibration which may increase or decrease in response to tension and compression of the beams.

While it will be apparent that the embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bifurcate resonance column having a longitudinal axis and adapted for vibration at a resonant frequency that varies with axial loading thereon, comprising:

a center portion adapted to being energized for vibration having two identical spaced parallel beams disposed on opposite sides of said axis and adapted for flexural vibrations of equal amplitude and opposite phase; and

a pair of enlarged end portions having substantially greater moments of inertia respectively than said center portion for exerting equal and opposite end reactions when axially loaded,

one of said end portions being fixed, and

the other of said end portions being free except for a flexible portion extending therefrom in an axially outward direction for coupling said end portion to an adjacent member, said flexible portion having only one degree of freedom coinciding with the direction of said longitudinal axis for supporting its associated end portion while maintaining said center portion substantially stress-free along said axis in the absence of axial loading.

2. A resonance column as claimed in claim 1, including a pickoff means disposed between said pair of beams for sensing deflections therein.

3. A resonance column as claimed in claim 2, including a loading means having cooperating portions bearing against said end portions of said resonance column for applying an axial load thereon.

4. A resonance column as claimed in claim 3, including a drive means disposed between said pair of beams adjacent said pickoff means for vibrating said beams with equal and opposite deflections at the resonant frequency level thereof.

5. A resonance column as claimed in claim 4, in which said pickoff means includes means for sensing a variation in the resonant frequency level of said beams caused by a variation in axial load thereon.

6. A resonance column as claimed in claim 5, in which said pickoff means has a pair of coils respectively disposed adjacent to said pair of beams.

7. A resonance column as claimed in claim 5, in which said drive means has a solenoid coil, and in which said beams are composed of a magnetically permeable material.

8. A force transducer, including:

a resonance column as claimed in claim 1,

a loading means engaging said column end portions for applying an axial load thereon,

a pickoff means disposed between said pair of beams,

and

a drive means disposed between said pair of beams adjacent said pickoff means.

9. A force transducer as claimed in claim 8, in which:

said loading means includes a proof mass body fixedly connected to one of said end portions coaxially therewith, and further includes a support body fixedly connecting the other of said end portions of said resonance column to said adjacent member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,959,965 11/1960 Holmes.

2,971,104 2/1961 Holt.

3,098,388 7/1963 Appleton 73517 XR 3,238,789 3/1966 Erdley.

3,269,192 8/1966 Southworth et al.

JAMES J. GILL, Primary Examiner. 

